The 3rd Sunday in Lent
God said:
Solomon, I’m pleased that you asked for this. You could have asked to live a long time or to be rich. Or you could have asked for your enemies to be destroyed. Instead, you asked for wisdom to make right decisions. So I’ll make you wiser than anyone who has ever lived or ever will live. ~ 1 Kings 3:11-12 (CEV)
But more than anything else, put God’s work first and do what he wants. Then the other things will be yours as well. ~ Matthew 6:33 (CEV)
KEY IDEA:
Make God's agenda your first priority and he will bless you with more than you can imagine to ask.
PRAYER:
Wise and generous God, thank you for including me in your agenda. I confess to the struggle I have of including your agenda in my life. Grant me the wisdom and energy I need to reprioritize my life so that it all lines up with your agenda. I am going to strive to pursue Jesus and his kingdom as my top priority. Amen.
You, God, are the source of all of life. We thrive through the light that radiates from you. ~ Psalm 36:9 (ABP)
So, whoever has the Son, has life; whoever rejects the Son, rejects life. ~ 1 John 5:12 (MSG)
KEY THOUGHT:
Our ability to live well is tied to our receptivity toward the life God gives.
PRAYER:
Jesus, you are the way, the truth, and the life. Thank you for giving even when I am not so good at receiving. Help me to focus on what it means to have your life flowing through me. I'm going to live well because of you. Amen.
You must not insult a deaf person or put some obstacle in front of a blind person that would cause them to trip. Instead, fear your God; I am the Lord. ~ Leviticus 19:14 (CEB)
You obey the law of Christ when you offer each other a helping hand. ~ Galatians 6:2 (CEV)
KEY THOUGHT:
We live out our purpose when we look out for those in need.
PRAYER:
Thank you, Lord, for caring about me. I am a needy person. Forgive me for failing to take the neediness of others seriously. Show me how to help. Grant me wisdom to do so well. I'm going to live out the mandate of Christ through my life. Amen.
Take my side and get me out of this;
give me back my life, just as you promised. ~ Psalm 119:154 (MSG)
Running up to the carriage, Philip heard the man reading the prophet Isaiah. He asked, “Do you really understand what you are reading?”
The man replied, “Without someone to guide me, how could I?” Then he invited Philip to climb up and sit with him. ~ Acts 8:30-31 (CEB)
KEY THOUGHT:
God is on our side and he sends people to steer us back on course.
PRAYER:
Thank you, Lord, for sending people into my life who are influencing me to follow you and your instructions. I confess that I am not always open to what they have to say. Save me from my independent streak and help me be more open to your guidance. I'm going to focus on attending to your instruction. Amen.
*ABOUT THE
DAILY TEXTS
The Daily Texts have been published by the Moravian Church since 1731. In 2015 I started posting these Bible verses for my spiritual formation students at Pacific Islands University. In the process of responding to the verses, I found the rhythm of looking for a common thread and writing a prayer based on that key idea to be helpful for my own soul. The prayers are more or less modeled on the TRIP method, which is what I ask my students to do in their journaling. ~ Brad Boydston
TRANSLATIONS
ABP = Authorized Boydston Paraphrase — my own freestyle biblical adaptation — somewhere between paraphrase, commentary, and sermon
CEB = Common English Bible (©2011, the Common English Bible)
CEV = Contemporary English Version (©1995, American Bible Society)
MSG = The Message (©1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson)
NIRV = New International Reader's Version (©1996, 1998, Biblica)
NIV = New International Version (©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011, Biblica)
NLT = New Living Translation (©1996, 2004, 2007, 2013, Tyndale House Foundation)
